Gmail Introduces Two New Themes to Preview Their New Gmail+ Look

July 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Google already made the announcement earlier this week that they’ll be phasing out the Picasa and Blogger brands to more fully integrate them with Google+, it’s no real surprised that they’re doing the same thing for Gmail.

They may not be phasing out the Gmail brand but they did just release two new themes that are supposed to let you “preview” the eventual new look of Gmail. Both themes are basically the same although one is “dense”. The only difference is between this and the non-dense version is the other version seems to be double-spaced, a little too much space for my liking. I prefer the dense theme.

If you have right-side chat enabled in your Gmail Labs you’ll want to disable that otherwise it tends to make the theme look pretty funky.

I’ve been hoping for a new Gmail UI for quite a while and although I do think this is a step in the right direction I think there’s a lot more room for tightening up the UI and making it a just a little cleaner.

To activate the themes simply go into your Gmail settings > Themes and choose one of the two new options listed, they should be the last two themes listed.

What do you guys think of the new look?

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How to Access the Old Gawker Media Designs

February 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

TechCrunch posted an article yesterday called Gawker’s Gulp Moment: Big Redesign Is Driving People Away pointing out the huge drop in traffic all Gawker media properties (save for Lifehacker) have seen since they launched there new design across all of their brands.

One constant you can always count on is that users tend to go apeshit bananas about virutally any sort of UI or functionality changes made to one of their beloved websites, no matter how minor, or seemingly innocuous the changes appear to be. That being said, the new Gawker Media redesigns are not minor by any stretch of the imagination.

Here’s a sampling of just a few of the reactions on Twitter:




Accessing the old Gawker site designs

There is however some good news. It seems that you can still access the old design on all of Gawker’s properties by adding “ca.” onto the beginning of any of their URLs. Visiting ca.gawker.com will bring you to classic Gawker blogginess:

I’m not sure how long this will last but it currently works for all of the Gawker properties including http://ca.gizmodo.com/, http://ca.lifehacker.com/, http://ca.deadspin.com/…well you get the idea.

And just in case you’re one of the, seemingly few, people that actually like the new redesign, you’ll be happy to know that someone has already come up with a completely free, Open Source WordPress theme that’s pretty much an exact replica of the Gawker themes. It’s called Qawker (live demo) and you can download it here.

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Chrome Web Store: Five Chrome Apps to Get You Started off Right

December 16, 2010 By 1 Comment

Google quietly rolled out the Chrome Web Store last week and already we’re seeing some great new apps that add some very cool functionality inside the Chrome browser.

I’ve taken quite a bit of time scouring through the apps and have come up with five worthwhile apps that should help start you off and give you an idea of just what’s possible when a great web app comes to fruition.

The main problem I found with the Chrome Web Store is that there are a great many so-called apps that pretty much function as Chrome extensions.

That’s all well and good if you’re looking for an extension, but you don’t need to install an app that’s only purpose is to redirect you to a web app. That’s the main reason I wanted to publish this post and highlight these five apps, they go above and beyond and actually create exclusive app environments.

Click after the jump for a list of the apps.
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Genesis Theme Black Friday Sale

November 26, 2010 By 1 Comment

One of the most common questions I am asked by people wanting to improve their site is, “is it worth it to buy a premium theme?” I always answer with an emphatic, “yes!” When someone visits your site for the first time it’s the same as if they were meeting you for the first time, and like meeting someone, you only get one chance at a first impression.

25% off everything at StudioPress now through Tuesday »

Just use the code BLACK when you checkout. If you decide to get the Pro Plus All-Theme Package, you’ll save $62 off the list price. Click here to visit the site.

If someone visits your blog and it’s painful to look at or looks “amateurish”, there’s a good chance you may have lost the opportunity to have a return visitor. As part of my services I offer a wide array of blog customizations and consultation, however I understand that some people may not be ready to dive right in to that sort of commitment. Fortunately there are some great solutions for people looking for a simple, powerful theme framework with outstanding SEO and a plethora of options to work with and Genesis is one of the best.

This site, along with virtually all other client sites I build, are built on the Genesis Framework. Just like building a home that you want to make sure lasts you a long time, you have to make sure you start with a solid foundation. Genesis is the solid foundation you need to get started if you’re ready to take that next step.

If you were ever on the fence about buying a premium theme, I can assure you that Genesis won’t disappoint. Plus, it’s win/win. If you get your site up and running on the Genesis Framework and then decide to really take it to the next level, you already have an awesome foundation from which to build from.

I offer a wide array of services that will allow you to take your blog from just another face in the crowd and transform it into a social media standout.

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Genesis Theme and Smartblo.gs

August 8, 2010 By 1 Comment

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Thesis 1.6 and Why You Should be Using It

October 31, 2009 By Leave a Comment

thesis-260x125When I began blogging back in 1999, I may not have had the tools at my disposal that I have today, but one thing I was as certain of then as I am today is the power of blogging. There has been no other tool in the history of mankind that has given voice to so many, for so little, in such a short period of time.

I believe that history will look back on this era, this dawn of social media, and pay homage to those who played a part in arming the masses during this wondrous time. It is my personal opinion, and I believe that history will bear this out, that Matt Mullenweg (Wikipedia) will be one of the people that will go down in history as having given voice to so many who may otherwise have felt marginalized and silenced their entire lives.

Of course there are many thousands of others who have played a part and I’m not saying Matt is the most important, nor the least, I am saying that for him to remain adamant about keeping WordPress Open Source even while it demolishes competitors in the market, is something very special.

Bet you weren’t thinking I was going to get so deep on why you should be using Thesis huh? Well, if you’re still reading this then I’ll assume you have a WordPress powered site, or are at least some marginal interest in starting one up. Once you’re up and running you’re going to want to customize the look and feel of your site. Depending on your level of experience and your budget this may be relatively easy or damn near impossible.
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New Projects

May 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Spring has sprung, summer is almost here, life at BAM is returning to a normal hum and I’m pretty excited about a couple of new projects on the horizon. Both are with my good friend and comrade, Jake Clark.

The first project to launch will probably WPDesignPro.com. I’m very excited about this one. In the year’s I’ve spent developing websites and blogs I’ve learned that one of the most difficult aspects about staking your claim on the internet is your design. Your design is your first impression to your client/readers and for most people, a clean, professional design is the hardest part of achieving their goal.

There are a few premium WordPress Theme shops out there but, for me at least, they’ve all sort of missed the mark. Maybe not by much and it may be just a feeling or a minor piece of the puzzle, but for me, it’s the small things that round out a great site.

Between Jake and myself we have over 16 years of website development between us and most all of that is working with CMS platforms to create dynamic, easy to use sites for people looking to build a solid, professional presence on the internet.

If you’re looking to put that final piece of polish on your WordPress powered site, check out WPDesignPro for some exciting developments.

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Gmail adds ability to choose your own theme colors

February 20, 2009 By 2 Comments

Since the release of Gmail themes back in November, people have been chomping at the bit to get under the hood and start tinkering with their themes themselves.

Now you can:

Just click on the Settings link in the upper right hand corner of your screen, select the Themes tab, and find the “Choose your own colors” option at the bottom of that page. You’ll be able to select colors for everything from the background of your inbox to link text.

Don’t make everything black though, it makes it really hard to read.

gmail_custom_colors1

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Gmail Themes

November 21, 2008 By 4 Comments

In case you’ve been under a rock for the past few days, Gmail has added themes.  Right now I’m digging on “Shiny”.  To customize your them, go to the Themes tab under Settings.  Google has been rolling out this new feature over the past few days so if you didn’t see it before, keep checking.

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